Evanescent
by kittycat69
Summary: One-Shot. "I never left you," Annie's voice cracked, "I am always with you, Auggie."


**a/n: Inspired by the snowy day. Hope you all like it! Please review on your way out!**

**Special thanks, as always, to Gwynne G for being my amazingly helpful beta. **

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Covert Affairs. All rights reserved. Don't sue me.

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><p><strong>Evanescent<strong>

_Evanescent – (adj.) vanishing; fading away; fleeting._

The snow swirled softly around her. The little crystal snowflakes glimmered brightly in the sunlight as they alit on her long blonde locks and brushed against cheeks blushed light pink with the cold. Eyes that swirled like melted dark chocolate met his sightless hazel ones with a familiar coy glance that teased and dared him to follow her as she twirled through the lightly falling snow.

And follow Auggie did.

Weaving delicately through the forest's trees, the porcelain-skinned woman danced lightly across the snow. Her soft steps left no marks in the pristine powder. Glancing back over her shoulder, the woman looked up at Auggie through pale lashes, her scarf her scarf fluttered playfully in the passing wind.

"Come on, Aug," she teased lightly. Her smile was dazzling as she rolled her eyes at her slower companion, "You're going to fall behind again!"

Auggie zipped up his coat and shivered, though his pace never wavered. The snow crunched rhythmically beneath his boots; his sure steps left a trail of footprints through the trees. He had traveled this same path so many times before.

The woman waited patiently for Auggie to reach her side. A soft smile lit her face at his approach. With strides that matched, the pair continued their walk in silence. Gusts of snow blew between them, and the blonde woman's voice rang with happy giggles; their sound matched that of wind chimes. She reached up and gently brushed away a few of the snowflakes that gathered in the blind man's ever-messy brown hair.

Auggie shivered as the wind blew through his hair. Frowning slightly, he hunkered deeper into his winter coat and hunched his shoulders against the cold winter weather.

"It isn't _that_ cold, you know," the blonde teased lightly with a bark of laughter. As if to prove her point, she darted ahead of her blind companion, arms outstretched as she spun about playfully in the falling snow. She giggled as Auggie huffed loudly and crossed his arms tightly over his chest.

"Oh, Auggie," she skipped back to his side with a wide smile, "You really ought to loosen up a little, Mister Anderson."

Auggie grumbled something under his breath, a soft curse directed at the snow that covered the ground, before he gave the wet mush a half-hearted kick with his boot-covered foot.

"So dramatic, as always," the woman rolled her eyes at her companion's actions, though there was still laughter on her lips. She smiled once again and tucked her hands into her coat pockets to bounce along beside the brunette man. With a soft sigh, she extended a hand and let her fingers trail along the bark of one of the trees they passed.

"This is such a lovely place," she offered after a few minutes of silence, "It would be a great spot to bring my sister's family for a picnic, don't you think?" she asked as she glanced over at Auggie.

The expression on Auggie's face looked almost thoughtful; then, slowly, he sighed under his breath and reached forward blindly until his fingers brushed against the place where the woman's hand had touched. He sighed again, louder and longer than before and stuffed his chilled hand back into his coat pocket. A scowl grew on his handsome features.

"Can I take that as a yes?" the woman giggled to herself. Auggie simply sighed again, and continued onwards. His companion pranced after him.

She followed him a short ways, until they came to a place where the small path through the woods forked in two different directions. The blind man expertly turned off the worn path and onto the denser path. He placed his feet in the perfect spots and never once stumbled, even with the deep snow cover. Auggie certainly knew where he was going.

Skipping along beside him, the blonde woman let her gaze wander about. Occasionally, she spotted something of interest, a flower still in bloom through the snow, or a little rabbit scampering by, which she would point out excitedly to Auggie.

Head bowed and shoulders still hunched, Auggie continued forward.

"Oh, look!" the blonde exclaimed and pointed up ahead, "The trees are thinning out."

Auggie knew this trail well, and realized he must be at the place where the trail ended and opened into a little, circular clearing.

"Oh, it's just as lovely as I remember, Auggie," the blonde gasped as they stepped out into the open.

A circle of pristine snow covered the ground. The clearing was edged all around by large ferns that grew in bright green clumps around the trees. A patch of brightly colored wildflowers were still in bloom – in defiance of the impending winter weather. Off to one side, a small stream lay frozen, surrounded by snow-covered boulders.

"How beautiful must this place be in summer?" the woman glanced over at Auggie.

The blind man simply started off across the small clearing.

Lightly biting her lip, the woman followed after him, her steps ghosted over the places where Auggie's boots had left indents in the snow.

Auggie dropped to his knees in the center of the clearing. He reached down and brushed the snow away from the spot in front of him.

The blonde woman took a small step forward and crouched down beside him.

Auggie swept away the last of the snow to reveal a small granite plaque set into the ground.

A small, sad smile settled on the woman's lips as Auggie's quivering hands expertly traced the lettering embedded into the stone.

"Hey, Annie," he whispered. He gently brushed his fingers along her name with a soft smile.

"Hey, Auggie," she whispered back, dark chocolate eyes turning liquid with unshed tears.

"Sorry I haven't come to visit in a while," Auggie sighed as he scowled slightly, "The Agency's been really busy, you know? Lots of bad people out there." He chuckled softly at himself; then strong, sensitive fingers traced her name again and he closed his eyes against the tears that welled up in them. "Well, of course there are bad people out there," he continued. "They're the ones who took you from me."

"I never left you," Annie's voice cracked, "I am always with you, Auggie."

"I have so much to tell you though," Auggie's face slit into a small smile, "The Agency is more hectic that usual. And I'm always stressed, which is another reason I haven't visited in a while. Oh, and to top it off, my new partner is a first-class idiot. I don't even think the guy knows I'm blind yet, actually, which only proves my point," he rolled his sightless eyes with another soft chuckle, "And, well, we just finished our latest polygraphs, _finally_, and I'm about ninety nine percent sure I'll still have a job by the end of the week. And about eighty percent sure that Jai won't," he added, with a soft snort of laughter.

"Don't underestimate him," Annie responded playfully and swatted at Auggie's shoulder.

Auggie rubbed his shoulder absently as another gust of wind blew past him. He sighed and blinked hard to keep back threatening tears.

"I miss you, Annie," he whispered softly. Beside him, Annie started to fade away, sad eyes filled with longing clung to Auggie. Her voice echoed plaintively as she vanished, swept away in a gust of snowy wind.

"I miss you too, Auggie."

Auggie turned to his left, certain that he'd heard something there. He reached out with all his remaining senses for a moment before he sighed and muttered, "Just a squirrel."

He moved his hands once more over the small grave marker before he dusted them free of the cold snow and slowly regained his feet. He bundled himself into his jacket and unfolded his cane. The walk back was always harder – the walk back _alone_.


End file.
